Tom Learner

Tom Learner is Head of Science at the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in Los Angeles. He oversees all the Institute’s scientific research, developing and implementing projects that advance conservation practice in the visual arts. He was a GCI senior scientist from 2007 to 2013, overseeing the Modern and Contemporary Art Research initiative, during which time he developed an international research agenda related to the conservation of modern paints, plastics, and contemporary outdoor sculpture. Prior to his arrival at the GCI, he served as a senior conservation scientist at Tate, London, where he developed Tate’s analytical and research strategies for modern materials and led the Modern Paints project in collaboration with the GCI and National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. He has a PhD in chemistry (University of London, 1997), and a Diploma in conservation of easel paintings (Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 1991). He sits on the advisory committee for INCCA (the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art) and on the IIC (International Institute for Conservation) Council, and was coordinator for the Modern Materials and Contemporary Art working group of ICOM-CC from 2008-14.